Hot Topics:

Lowell police: Eklund struck girlfriend (VIDEO)

By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com

Updated:
07/23/2013 07:49:05 AM EDT

LOWELL -- Richard "Dickie" Eklund, of The Fighter fame, was released without bail after he was accused of a drunken incident Friday in which he allegedly hit his girlfriend with a stove grate, choked her and threatened her with a kitchen knife.

In Lowell District Court on Monday, Eklund, 56, of 14 Phillips St., Lowell, pleaded not guilty to domestic assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (stove grate), intimidation of a witness, and assault with a dangerous weapon (a knife).

While prosecutors sought $2,000 cash bail, defense attorney Jeanne Earley argued for personal recognizance, saying Eklund, who has a lengthy record, including more than 65 arrests, always shows up for court. His last default was in 1991, she said.

Judge Thomas Brennan released Eklund on personal recognizance with conditions of no drugs or alcohol. When Earley objected to the "no alcohol" condition, Eklund said he didn't care because he is in the gym every day.

Eklund, a three-time Golden Gloves winner, is the half brother of boxing champ Micky Ward, of Lowell, on whose life the 2010 movie The Fighter was based. Eklund was depicted on screen long before The Fighter. He was one of the addicts featured in the 1995 HBO documentary High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell.

Advertisement

Eklund was portrayed in The Fighter by Christian Bale, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for the role. The movie was also nominated for best picture.

Prosecutor Raquel Frisardi said that just before midnight on Friday, Lowell police responded to a report of a domestic assault. Police said they found Eklund's girlfriend with marks on her chin and neck. The woman said Eklund came home drunk and high, triggering an argument. Eklund allegedly threw a drink in the victim's face, threw a stove grate at her and began to choke her, Frisardi said. The woman was able to get free, and Eklund allegedly fled the scene.

When Eklund returned, he allegedly became enraged when the woman said she had called the police. He allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife and pointed it at her stomach, police allege.

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sun. So keep it civil.

OUARZAZATE, Morocco (AP) — The people are restive, the priesthood is scheming and a fanatic band of insurgents known as the zealots are plotting assassinations — and now to make matters worse, the body of a condemned cult-leader known as Jesus has disappeared from the tomb, apparently following some ancient prophecy. Full Story